


Trouble

by Mary_chat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chloe spray-paints Marinette's hair as a prank, F/M, Pranks and Practical Jokes, i don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28099806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mary_chat/pseuds/Mary_chat
Summary: As the two rivals planned their well-thought pranks, they were unaware of what tomorrow held for them. They were unaware of how... serious this prank could go. But what could happen? It was just a prank. A harmless one. They were sure nobody would get hurt and by nobody, that included themselves and their friends. After all, April Fool's was supposed to be a fun day. What could go wrong?Everything...
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know it is not April so I am a fool!

It was just another normal holiday, or a special day anyway. Everybody was smiling, playing pranks on each other, especially the students of Françoise Dupont High School. They enjoyed the supposed 'holiday' as it brought laughter and joy to everyone. It was a way to let out all the tension and stress from school work.

But two students enjoyed April Fool's the most, the two best friends famously known for their tricks, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Alya Cesaire. They not only played pranks on each other, but they found amusement playing pranks on other students and teachers, even though that meant getting wailed on by the one and only, number one bully, Chloe. It was a day where the trio forgot about their akuma problems and focused on having fun instead.

So the day before April Fool's, the two best friends and even Nino, agreed on some good pranks to play on the students of Françoise Dupont High School, especially the bullies. They didn't care that they would get in trouble afterward, they just knew that it had to be done. The pranks were too good to pass. 

Nino, on the other hand, did not like the idea. he knew they would get in serious trouble somehow and he was worried. he knew their plan would work and that would be the problem, meaning Chloe would know who the culprit, or _culprits_ , are. Sure Chloe was smart when it came to stuff involving her classmates. he tried convincing the two stubborn girls that it would not be wise to play such a dangerous game on her but, _of course_ , the two girls wouldn't hear it.

However, the trio was oblivious to the fact that their school enemy was also planning something, a mischievous act. She even managed to get her best friend, Sabrina, to join this 'evil' plan. It was going to be great. Chloe knew that Marinette would most likely play a prank on her and she found it only fair that she returned the favor. After that time Marinette placed all of her pink stuffed animals in her locker along with toilet paper, she still held a grudge against her and was finally going to let it all out tomorrow.

She knew her plan would work, as there weren't any flaws. She was sure that the girl wouldn't suspect a thing, as it was going to be a surprise. She couldn't wait to see the look on her arch-enemy! However, she had to be cautious in the next couple of hours of school. Marinette would try to play a prank on her too, knowing the girl was capable of it. She was going to pay extra attention tomorrow so that she wouldn't let her embarrass herself again in front of the whole school.

As the two rivals planned their well-thought pranks, they were unaware of what tomorrow held for them. They were unaware of how... serious this prank could go. But what could happen? It was just a prank. A _harmless_ one. They were sure nobody would get hurt and by nobody, that included themselves and their friends. After all, April Fool's was supposed to be a fun day. What could go wrong?

_Everything_

* * *

The next day was certainly different, and a good change from other days. The students were more cheerful, _including Nino_ , and less boring than usual but of course who would be? Especially if it meant playing pranks on their least favorite teachers aka Ms.Mendeleiev. Although the pranks weren't serious, they got a laugh or two from other people and it seemed that April Fool's will be better this year.

However, nobody's expression can compare to Marinette's. She was beaming, her face screaming rainbows and unicorns, as if she had just won a trophy. Everybody knew she was planning something big, and not only to her bully Chloe. And even if it wasn't necessarily a _big_ prank, they were certain it was still a good one. Marinette had the same look on her face whenever she was about to do something mischievous.

Marinette walked to her two best friends who were unlocking their lockers and grabbing their binders for the next period class. When they noticed Marinette walking towards them, they waved at her, and were glad to see her wearing a radiant expression.

"Hey guys," Marinette simply said as she unlocked her locker before stuffing her backpack into the messy space. She didn't bother picking up the pieces of crumpled paper balls which landed softly on the ground. She finally took out her unfinished papers before locking it back.

"What took you so long? Don't tell me you overslept again," Alya warned, narrowing her eyes at the grinning teenage girl. It didn't look like she slept in though, in fact, it looked like she woke up extra early today. The bags were still under her eyes and she looked exhausted but still sober enough to focus in class. But she knew the girl was capable of oversleeping, considering the number of times she showed up late to their weekend plans.

They were used to Marinette coming in late since there always happened to be a Akuma nearby, but they were certain that there wasn't a akuma _anywhere_. And she didn't have any new cuts or bruises on her face or arms.

"What were you _exactly_ doing Dudette?" Nino asked cluelessly, eager to know what the girl had done to make herself so excited. Her eyes were on fire, burning with emotion, particularly anticipation. However, Alya didn't need to ask to know what made the girl so happy.

"You know she's gonna find out, right?" she stated obviously, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

Marinette rolled her eyes as her friend Nino looked at her, eager to hear what he was going to say next. 

However, their friend only rolled his eyes, still not believing they would get away with it easily. The last time Marinette pulled out the toilet paper prank on Chloe, she got chased by her and was about to get wailed on if she hadn't escaped in time. She knew that Chloe wouldn't be too lenient with her this time.

"Well, what comes around, _goes around_. Just be careful," Nino warned as the trio started walking again to their next period class, math. This time, Marinette only sighed, the excitement on his face vanishing quickly. Nino instantly felt guilty, as if he were responsible for the Marinette's sudden mood.

"I know, I know. But I feel like Chloe already has a prank planned for me," Marinette admitted, rubbing her neck nervously. Alya instantly placed a comforting hand on the Marinette's shoulder, smiling in the process.

"Don't worry, we got your back," she softly said as Marinette smiled appreciatively and Nino also placed a comforting hand on her.

"Yeah, she can try to get you, we won't let it happen. Speaking of which, what's the prank you planned for her anyway?" Nino asked as he smiled when the Marinette's mischievous expression returned.

"Oh, let's just say that her face will be pale as a ghost after this..." Marinette mumbled with a smirk in the process. Oh, he just couldn't wait! Alya raised an eyebrow at her friend's answer, questioning what she meant by that.

Their friend shook her head, knowing he wouldn't be able to get them to stop performing the prank. Now that Alya seemed interested in it, he won't be able to change either of their minds.

* * *

Marinette wasn't the only one who had a plan coming up. Before the second-period class started, Chloe walked down the hallway to meet up with her school pal, Sabrina. She was supposed to retrieve a couple of supplies that she told her to get. These materials were what she needed to complete her plan.

Chloe searched for Sabrina, finally spotting her, talking with a familiar boy, Luka. The two looked to be in a good mood as they laughed and made small talk casually. When Luka noticed Chloe coming by, he said one last goodbye and excused himself, wanting to give the two girls some space. He knew it had to be something related to the prank they were planning.

Once Luka was gone, Chloe grinned at her friend, motioning her to take out the desired materials. Sabrina immediately knew what her friend was talking about so she placed the light shopping bag on the floor and began taking out the materials her friend requested her to get; cans of spray paint (all black and red), an empty shampoo bottle and water bottle. As she took out the materials, the receipt fell out and Chloe bent down to pick it up, examining the specified materials and their prices.

"Mhm... now _that's_ the perfect one," Chloe smiled satisfied, going down the list as she stuffed the receipt in her jeans pocket and picked up the perfect shade of black. "How long is this supposed to last exactly? Hopefully not just one day."

Sabrina grinned as she took out more paint colors, looking at the back of the bottle where the instructions sticker was printed out. "Just enough time for everybody to realize she 'dyed' her hair. This is permanent spray paint, meaning it's more effective than normal hair dye. It's supposed to last for about a week before she's able to wash it out quickly. She won't be able to dye over it for cover before then because it's strong paint… Are you sure about this? We can get in serious trouble for this..."

Chloe looked at her nervous friend before she examined the pewter shade bottle again, checking to see if it will cause any serious damage. Fortunately, it didn't mention anything about it seriously damaging the hair, other than it will stay there for a couple of days and maybe weaken it like any other chemical. She knew she would get in trouble for it but she wanted serious revenge

"Relax _Sabrina_ , I'll be doing the rest, good? She can dye it back to her raven black hair, or even just wash it out after since it's washable, after everyone's had a good laugh or two. Plus, this is not a harmful kind and will only paint her hair. But why black and red? Couldn't you choose something more flashy, like pink or orange?" Chloe asked curiously, confused as to why her friend decided to use red as one of the paint colors.

"Well, The reason was that it's Ladybug's suit color and I always wondered how it would look on her." Sabrina simply replied as her friend rolled her eyes, not believing that _that_ was the actual reason.

"You have a whole wall of Ladybug pictures. You practically know her exact hair color from the number of pictures you took. I even think you have a strand of her hair somewhere..." Sabrina finally said, growing annoyed by the obliviousness of her friend. Chloe's eyes widened, finally understanding the concept and shuddered. 

Chloe sighed dreamily of her hero while Sabrina chuckled, still not believing her friend had a role model other than herself. If it's one thing he knew about Chloe, it's that she loves herself to the point where she kisses her reflection.

"I wish we knew who she was..." she replied as the girls nodded, going back to the task at hand. Chloe picked up the perfect shade of red, before smiling evilly at it. She was excited to play a prank on her _classmate_ and couldn't wait to see the reaction when the girl entered the cafeteria today. It was going to be priceless and she would be there to record and post the whole thing on the internet.

"I still don't know how spray painting someone's hair is supposed to be funny. Doesn't seem like a good enough prank to me," Sabrina absentmindedly said, as her friend rolled her eyes.

"The purpose is _not_ to give Maritrash a makeover. She was supposed to freak out over her new hair color like a girl screaming over cockroaches, and _I_ was supposed to videotape it so everybody would see. She would most probably hide her hair with some hat and then when she enters the cafeteria..." Chloe trailed off as Sabrina blinked a couple of times, before finally getting the idea.

"I would take it off. Got it," her friend completed the sentence as Chloe grinned, patting her friend on the shoulder.

"I would be expecting some sort of scream which would make everybody laugh. You know how jittery she can get." the blonde girl explained as her friend nodded smiling, seeing what she meant. Now that Sabrina knew why the prank was going to be a success, she was even more excited to see how the hair color would turn out even if it meant trying it on someone like Cheng. It's not like she was Ladybug or something anyway.

"And we're doing this today, right? But when? We have class before lunch and we can't just go spray paint his hair in the middle of the cafeteria!" Sabrina stated as her friend rolled her eyes before she picked up the empty shampoo bottle, specifically the one Marinette used all the time.

"You see this? Marinette uses this type of shampoo all the time. She'll think that this is her actual shampoo and she'll put it on right before lunch, giving her no time to think twice," Chloe explained as Sabrina held her right finger up, ready to ask for a further explanation before Chloe walked to the girl's washroom, motioning her friend to follow her. Sabrina obliged, following her best friend as they entered the empty washroom.

"I have Phys.ed right before lunch and that's why _I'll_ be the one doing the honors. She always takes a shower after everyone is done and that's why he's always late for lunch. Meanwhile, _I'll_ slip by the change room, switch the two shampoo bottles and wait for the outcome, outside the gym," Chloe further explained as she unscrewed the cap of the shampoo bottle and spray paint bottle before pouring the contents into the empty shampoo bottle. She made sure it wasn't too full to not attract any suspicion and she poured a bit of lukewarm water. She screwed the cap back on, the now full shampoo bottle before giving it a shake, making sure it mixed well. This will make sure the dye wasn't too powerful and that it wouldn't cause damage to her hair.

"Ah, you have this all planned out," Sabrina commented as her friend grinned and exited the girl's washroom, the shampoo bottle held tightly in her right hand. She was now confident and pretty excited. It would be a good prank, she knew that for sure. She also knew it wouldn't cause harm to the girl which meant she won't get into trouble for this.

"Oh, you better watch out, Maritrash. This won't be like my usual wailings," Chloe smirked as she unlocked her locker, stuffing the bottle inside her gym bag so she doesn't forget.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Right after second period, Marinette practically ran to her locker, not to only put her stuff away and grab her gym bag, but to put her prank into action. To say she was excited would be an understatement. Anybody who looked at her would immediately realize that there was something strange with the girl. The gleam in her eyes was shinier than usual, excitement being the most obvious one. Even her friends were stunned by their friend's weird demeanor, not knowing if this was a good sign or not. It didn't look like it caused her any serious trouble nor did it look like she was affected in a bad way.

Marinette quickly unlocked her locker, thankful that it opened right this time. She didn't even need Alya to help her with it, she did it on her own this time. Marinette stuffed some algebra homework sheets on the top shelf, not bothering to check if it would get crumpled. It's not like she was going to do it anyway, her parents needed Marinette to help them out today.

She took out her desired item, her phone. She usually brought her phone with her to class but she knew her teachers would probably take it away from her. So she decided to not risk it and keep it safe in her locker. This prank was too important and she needed to record it.

"Why were you running so fast?" Alya asked, quickly catching up to her friend with Nino by her side. They were both panting, still questioning how the girl managed to get so far without a single sweat running down her forehead. They didn't even know she could run like that, as she never tried to in gym class. This prank must mean a lot to her.

"Yeah, not to mention you've been acting so weird lately. I would ask you to leave this prank alone but you wouldn't listen to me anyway," Nino stated, shrugging his shoulders as he placed his hand on the locker beside Marinette's for support. However, Alya only shook her head, not agreeing with what he was suggesting.

"Are you kidding?! This prank will be legendary and knowing Marinette, she's got something big planned," her friend exclaimed, catching the attention of several students walking to their next classes.

"Shh, be quiet!" Marinette quickly hushed, raising her finger to her lips to signal her to stop talking. She looked around, checking to see if anyone was listening before leaning closer to her friends. "I'm going to the washroom, don't leave. Alya, you record using this. The show's about to start soon."

Before either friends could question what Marinette was talking about, she gently tossed her phone to Alya, running in the opposite direction to where they came from. Nino wanted to go follow her and demand an explanation.

Alya played with the phone her friend gave her. He shook his head at his friend's carelessness, understanding why she couldn't take care of her phone properly. Hell, he couldn't take care of himself without getting into some form of trouble!

They heard a familiar scream, more specifically, Chloe's. Alya quickly tapped the record button, knowing this was Marinette's way to cue her to start recording. The two friends ran to the direction where the commotion was coming from before stopping at a crowd surrounding Chloe's locker.

Nino pushed by, eager to find out what exactly happened. He pushed by the students, now eager to find his friend when he noticed her recording in the front of the crowd.

Once he got to the front beside his Alya, he noticed something that made his eyes go wide. There she was, Chloe, hopping around like an escaped monkey. Any other person would've mistaken her for being drunk. Even Alya was grinning which only made Nino roll his eyes. Marinette put some ketchup into her orange juice.

"It was disgusting!"

She looked at the crowd, everybody was grinning and laughing at her. She tried to run away, However, she was stuck.

"My chair!" screeched a more lot than angry Chloe.

Chloe was stuck to her chair all by herself being stared at by her classmates. She could feel their gazes on the back of her head and secretly chuckling under their breath. The glue held her in the awkward position. Chloe's face burned a bright red as all the attention started to make her anxious.

"Now is someone gonna get me out of this mess?!" she threatened menacingly.

"The glue can be taken off by pulling at it... I think..."Sabrina suggested.

"You better watch it today, Maritrash!" Chloe countered one last time before freeing herself from the uncomfortable clutches of the gooey glue. She quickly ran to the girl's washroom, making sure to drag her friend, Sabrina along, but not before Alya could save the hundreds of hilarious pictures taken of the scene and sending them to the whole class.

Just then, Marinette walked in, her black hair messier than usual but her mood is still the same as before. Nobody noticed Marinette's classy entrance though and continued to talk about the prank, causing her to smirk even wider.

"So what did I miss?" she innocently asked, as Nino rolled his eyes while Alya high-fived her friend. The mischievousness was written all over her face as if screaming 'I did it' . However, no one noticed it or even acknowledged Marinette mysteriously walking into the crime scene. They didn't even pay attention to the fact that they were three minutes late to class and continued to chuckle on their way to class.

"You know she suspects you, right?" Nino absentmindedly stated as he dragged both his friends down the hallway, one grinning like a crazy psychopath while the other posting the video on social media, smirking now and then.

"Oh, how will she know?" Marinette stated as she looked over Alya's shoulder, making sure the video was perfect and included all the necessary elements to make it a success. It would be the first video to be officially posted online about the whole prank.

"You've done pranks on her before!" Nino exclaimed nervously, pointing out the facts as the two girls simply just grinned, not caring at all with what they could be faced with after this.

"Who cares? Her prank can't top this," Marinette smugly stated as she earned another eye roll from her friend. It's not that he didn't enjoy pranks, especially Marinette's, but Chloe wasn't someone you should pull off these pranks with. He knew she would figure out it was Marinette all along, and she would try to find a way to ruin her life. Marinette's reputation was already basically drowning at the moment.

He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling for today, even though the prank that his friend set up was pretty good and made him laugh too. He had a feeling...

_________

"Oh come on! It can't be that bad," Sabrina soothingly said, trying to calm down the furious teenager but unfortunately, she wasn't succeeding. Chloe was ready to explode into tiny bits, her face red of anger and her hands white from clutching onto the wet slippery sink. She didn't bother trying to cuff up the sleeves of her yellow sweater, not caring one bit. She hadn't even noticed her hands had started to throb not until she covered her face, not even wanting to look at herself in the mirror.

"My reputation is decreasing! At this rate, I'll be below Maritrash," she growled to her friends, her eyes burning with embarrassment but mostly hate. Oh, how she wanted revenge on the person responsible for this. All she cared about was getting her revenge.

The mention of her school rival quickly grabbed her attention. Her eyes hardened, realizing who the culprit might be. Of course, how couldn't she have noticed?

Marinette's facial expression from the morning was nowhere near relaxing. She had something big planned, that's for sure. However, she knew for sure the person to blame for her current situation would be her. It had to be, who else? That was why she was looking so smug in the morning, so confident with herself. She knew her prank would work and Chloe felt stupid for not realizing it sooner. She hated to admit it, but the black-haired teenager was certainly clever than she gave her credit for sometimes. Too bad she didn't use her brain in her school studies.

And although Chloe had a hard time figuring out how Marinette managed to pull this prank off, in the end, she was still sure that Marinette was the one responsible for it. The more she thought about the prank, the greater her conclusion grew. Marinette was responsible for it, and there was nothing anybody could do to change her mind. But that made things easier for her. Now, she wouldn't have to feel guilty for playing the other side of the game. She would feel no regret when the girl walked in after gym class with her hair red as blood.  
______________________________________

When she looked at the laughing crowd, Marinette was nowhere to be seen. Her friend, Alya, was the one recording instead of her and that made no sense whatsoever. Of course, why would Marinette waste such a good chance like this? Shouldn't she be in the crowd, laughing or recording the scene to humiliate her later on? Shouldn't this be the time to get back on her? Chloe thought angrily, slapping herself mentally for not seeing this before. She was mad at Marinette, and she couldn't wait till lunchtime. Now thanks to her, she was missing Phys.ed and instead, having a breakdown like she just embarrassed herself in front of her crush. Can things get any worse?

Her hands clenched into fists, begging her to leave the washroom and deliver a well-deserved punch at the girl responsible. But she had to be reasonable and smart about this, knowing that Marinette will maybe not even admit it was her or even turn out not to be her in the first place. After all, she didn't have any solid proof that it was her.

And although the idea of wailing on Marinette seemed pleasing, she had to stop herself from storming off, reminding herself the reason why she had to remain so calm. If she wanted the prank to go smoothly, she'll have to push her emotions aside so that she can focus on the task.

She was more than eager to start right away with the plan and get it over with so she can have a laugh or two. She wanted to humiliate her rival just like she had done with her. If there was something Chloe knew, it was revenge. She definitely cannot let this slide, knowing students will continue to whisper about her for the rest of high school. She had to give the audience something else to focus on, something amusing so that they'll forget whatever happened to her. It had to be something that will be remembered.

"Sabrina, how much time do we have till lunch?" the blonde asked darkly, her eyes staring boldly at the mirror, not blinking once. The look was enough to shatter the glass contained in it. Even her friend, Sabrina took a step back, afraid to answer the simple yet unnerving question. She gulped, nervously rubbing her neck before sighing.

"T-thirty-seven minutes," the girl finally responded, gulping once more to wash away the tension her body was in. However, Chloe obliviously ignored the nervousness of her friend and instead sighed annoyingly. She was unaware of the amount of time she had spent in the washroom. The coach was probably wondering where she was now. Meanwhile, for the students, they were either talking shit behind her back or waiting nervously for the entrance of the blonde. If they were smart enough, they would've gone back to fearing her instead because she was gonna get back for whoever talked behind her back. That was a promise.

Chloe exited the vacant washroom, her friend following beside her as they headed to their lockers. The hallways were really quiet, and Sabrina found it odd that not a single student had left their classroom to go to the washroom. Either they drank less liquid today, or they were afraid to face the wrath of the school bully. Nobody was willing to take the chance of walking into the washroom and confronting Chloe. It was like suicide.

Once they got to their desired destination, Chloe unlocked her locker and searched through her gym bag, taking her time to examine the other bottles she had. After all, she was in no rush to go back to gym class. They had a lot of time till lunch and class still had twenty minutes left.

She finally took out the 'shampoo' before giving it a quick shake, making sure the water wasn't floating at the top. That would've made things suspicious. It had to look like real shampoo and for that to work, he had to mix the dye and water for a lighter, but still thick substance. Chloe then grinned, examining the final results of her mixed chemicals before motioning to her friend to follow. Now all they needed to do was head to their gym class and switch the two alike bottles and get out of here. Well, Chloe planned on staying and seeing the final results of her well-planned prank.

When they finally reached the heavy gym doors and pushed it open, they were glad to see that their class was outside in the field, playing soccer. It was quite a sunny day, and although it wasn't that hot, the weather was still nice and they could use some water at the moment. However, the two girls ignored their need to quench their thirst and walked by the basketball court, paying attention to their surroundings.

Now, their gym teacher won't have to ask them why they were late or what they were doing. There wasn't a single soul in the gym court except for the custodian, but she ignored them and continued onto his job. And that's not the best of all. They now didn't have to meet the eyes of their curious and snickering classmates. They weren't ready to meet the questioning glances and Chloe still needed to calm down a bit in case she beat up a kid for saying something dumb.

The two girls quickly sneaked into the girl's change room and cautiously peeked in, making sure no one was present. They were afraid someone was left behind, and Sabrina was especially afraid that Marinette would be the one late. Sabrina was afraid that she wouldn't be able to stop Chloe from wailing on Marinette since there weren't any teachers or students around to protect her.

However, the way they sneaked into the change room was something that came out of a fictional movie. If it weren't for the current situation, their actions would've been almost comical. Once they found out nobody was here, they entered the room and looked for a certain locker, specifically Marinette's. They knew her locker had no lock on it since she always managed to either forget her combination or just couldn't open it, so it wasn't hard finding the correct one.

"Chloe, here!" Sabrina whispered excitedly, pointing to the right locker. Chloe grinned and quickly headed to where her friend was standing. Once there, she yanked open the locker door and searched for the girl's shampoo, making the locker messier than before but Chloe knew Marinette wouldn't suspect a thing, she was always concentrated on other things. Once Chloe was sure she held the right shampoo, she switched places with the dye bottle and shut the locker.

"Okay, now that you're finished, I'm leaving," Sabrina stated as she waved 'goodbye' to her friend and quickly left, afraid to get caught by a passing teacher or curious student. Chloe rolled her eyes at her friend but grinned nevertheless. She was too excited to regard the consequences of her actions. She knew Marinette wouldn't suspect a thing, her plan was going perfectly so far. Now, all she had to do was wait until the fish took the bait. And that wouldn't be long since she had only fifteen minutes to go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this finds you healthy and happy. I will be busy so I am wishing you a early merry Christmas (Kwanzaa, Hanukkah) and the chance to do lots more this new year! I wish you and your family an extra measure of comfort, joy and hope this Christmas. (Kwanzaa,Hanukkah). My favorite time of year for my friends and families to gather, reminiscing about old memories and making lots of news ones. To me, Christmas is about spending time with your family and making memories with your family.
> 
> 2021 will hopefully be a better year!
> 
> Sincerely,  
> Mary

Marinette had just finished with the final warm-up when she decided to take a shower. They had to do extra push-ups/sit-ups in advance for the upcoming fitness test and nobody seemed to be in the mood to do anything. If it weren't for the prank earlier, Marinette would have complained about her aching sweaty body or for the fact that she got yelled at a couple of times today, though that happened all the time. But a smile was still visible on her face and it didn't seem that would change anytime soon.

"Nice video," a random student in her class complimented her, as Marinette grinned in response, walking to the girl's change-room. Sure Alya was the one who uploaded it, but it was under Marinette's name for her friend didn't seem too keen on being yelled at by Chloe after. And even if Marinette was kind of afraid of Chloe finding out it was her, she could care less. Her reputation was increasing because of it, and for once, she didn't mind the attention she was getting. She was enjoying it. When was the last time since she had this much attention? Excluding her hero alter ego, of course.

Another student gave her a high-five in the change-room as she returned it, taking a seat on one of the wooden benches. She ignored the fact that Chloe and Sabrina were nowhere to be seen and focused on relaxing her exhausted body. Sure she fought akumas daily, but her body still wasn't the best and she did get tired often.

Marinette sat there for a while, waiting for the rest of her classmates to take a shower and change so that she could do the same afterward. Marinette never particularly liked changing or showering when people were around, even if it was just girls the same age as her. She felt a bit self-conscious and she liked to take her time without feeling some sort of pressure. She just hoped that these akumas decided to take a break and let her rest for at least one day. She was having a good day and she didn't want anyone to ruin it.

When Marinette realized that they were just wrapping things up, she took out her school clothes and towel from her locker, making sure to also bring her shampoo and soap along. Lunch was about to start in five minutes and so far, not one akuma decided to make an entrance. When there weren't many people around, Marinette tried looking for an empty shower stall and when she found one, she neatly placed her clothes somewhere dry and brought her necessities along.

The water was hot today, and she almost believed today would turn out great. After scrubbing her body, she unscrewed the cap from the shampoo bottle and put some on her head, not paying attention to the slightly changed colour of the content. She simply shrugged it off and focused on washing her hair, making sure it was clean enough. After she was satisfied, she rinsed all the excess soap out, making sure there was none at sight.

She turned the tap off and quickly wrapped the oversize towel around her body, shivering from the coldness of the atmosphere.She paid no attention to drying her hair and focused on getting dressed first, the chilliness not leaving her.

She then turned to face the full body mirror when she realized something that made her freeze. Her hair was... red! It resembled the same colour of her suit she wore when she transformed into Ladybug. The sight was certainly unsettling.

She was afraid it was permanent. But most of all, she had a million questions in her head. What in the world had happened to her hair? He had to ask Tikki if this was normal, but she was sure it wasn't. She didn't know what to say, so she just stood there, facing the mirror in horror.

She walked closer to the mirror, inspecting her hair even further when she realized there were still a few specs of her black hair at the top of her hair. It was mostly the longer strands that were affected. She was confused. It couldn't be her alter ego or her hair would've been completely red. It looked like someone had poorly dyed it!

She then brought her attention to the shampoo that was sitting on the bench and picked it up, unscrewing the lid and peeking through it. The first thing she noticed was the change of colour. She was sure the shampoo she had been using was pale blue and not this . When she poured a little bit of the content at her fingertips, she noticed the texture was also a bit thicker, like glue and it had a different smell of nail-polish. It almost reminded her of the smell of spray paint. But why would she have spray paint shampoo? She had been using the same bottle for two years and the last time she used it was only two days ago. What caused it to be like this? It wasn't like shampoo bottles had expiration dates or something.

But as she further inspected the bottle, she began to realize that it wasn't her. Sure it was the same shampoo bottle she used but it wasn't the same liquid. Plus, it didn't contain this much last time and she was now sure someone must've left it in her locker purposely.

She tried washing her hair again despite the time. She was sure her friends were probably worried about her even though it happened often. They would've known if she was fighting a akuma by now. Plus, she never took that much time taking a shower so she washed her hair over and over again, hoping for some progress that would prove to her that it wasn't permanent. And although it was dimmer than before meaning it had worn off a bit, which was a great relief, however, the color was still there and it didn't look like it was gonna go anytime soon.

Finally giving up, she took a seat at one of the benches and sighed, not bothering to check if there was water on it. But then a thought crossed her mind as she panicked, even more worried. What if people recognized her as Ladybug with the hairdo? All they needed to do now was to Photoshop her in a Ladybug outfit and there goes her secret identity! She can't risk that happening so what should she do?

Should she... cut her hair? No, she can't risk that happening either! She wasn't a hairstylist and she would look like a total moron with very short hair. Plus, if she transformed into her alter ego, people would realize Ladybug's new hairstyle and it wouldn't be long till they put two and two together. How coincidental is that they are both teenage girls, being around the same height and weight, that also got the same haircut, the same day? No, she cannot let that happen.

But she can't walk out there like that either. She needed help, and fast! Marinette practically ran to her change-room locker and searched for her phone, ready to call her best friends.

"Alya! Come fast, to the girl's change-room! I need you- I'll tell you after, this is serious!" Marinette quickly yelled, not bothering to answer any of her friends concerning questions. She knew she couldn't have Nino with her here because he was a boy but she needed Alya for help. It was too risky to search for them outside.

Marinette played with her hands, nervous about the whole ordeal and waited patiently for her friend to come. Only a couple of minutes had passed as she heard the door open and her friend entered.

However, the two teenage friends weren't aware of the fact that there was also a third person waiting just outside the gym doors. Chloe was excited to see the outcome of her plan. She couldn't imagine how Marinette would look with such shade of hair but she waited patiently for her to come out. And when she saw her geeky friend run into the gym with worry, clearly not paying attention to the other girl outside the gym, her grin widened even more. That was a good sign. Marinette must've already discovered her new hair colour and was waiting for someone to help her.

Chloe waited for a bit but when she realized they wouldn't be coming out anytime soon, she sighed and decided to just see for herself later in the cafeteria. It would be a surprise she didn't want to open until everyone was present so she forced herself to leave before the two girls left the gym doors. It's not like they could hide in there forever, there was still a bunch of time left till next period. She just had to wait.   
__________________  
Meanwhile, when Alya saw Marinette, she was confused. 

"What happened? What's with the sudden change?" she asked confused, as Marinette sighed, shaking her head.

Alya started laughing as she glared at her "What's so funny?"

Alya continued to laugh, her left hand holding onto the railing of the bathroom stall for support while the other one was clutching onto her stomach. Her face was highly amused and Marinette continued to glare at her, not appreciating the 'support' she was getting. When her friend stopped laughing she looked back at her, before doubling in laughter.

"Finished?" Marinette snarled in annoyance, not seeing what was so funny with the whole situation she was in. If anything, it was tense and she tried to mask her nervousness by frustrated anger. When Alya stopped laughing, she looked at her friend, grinning with amusement.

"No," she replied, laughing for a couple more seconds before the sound finally faded, the only noise being her heavy breathing. The blogger looked at her displeased friend with a smile and decided to explain it to her.

"You see, I thought this was some sort of late Ladybug puberty or something and that just made me laugh even more with your mad childish face. That, and a couple of black specs at the top of your hair makes it look like there is a ladybug on your head," her friend explained as Marinette rolled her eyes, not believing that was the reason for her amusement.

"Hilarious. Now, can we please focus on the actual problem here. If you haven't noticed, I have red hair and someone decided it would be funny to play such a weird prank on me," she said seriously as her friend nodded in agreement, leaning closer to inspect her friend's hair. It indeed looked like someone had poorly dyed the black hair. It did look serious.

"Hmm, yeah it's nothing related to Ladybug, though that would've been funny," her friend said amusingly before holding her hands up in surrender when Marinette flashed a pair of blue angry eyes at her. "This is light spray paint mixed with a liquid; probably water."

Alya then walked over to the bathroom sink where the bottle was placed and inspected the contents, pouring some of it on the sink and dipping her ring finger on it. "Water has been added to this to decrease the effects of it. Do you want the good news or bad news?"

"Good," Marinette said immediately, eager to hear something that would make her feel better. Alya nodded, washing her hands after smiling at her friend.

"Well, the good news is that it isn't permanent. It will wear off after some scrubbing and effective shampoo. The bad news is..." the girl continued before sighing at the nervous reaction of her best friend. "This will start to wear off completely only after two weeks. Until then, you can do nothing about it. You can't even dye over it or that'll result in damaged hair and make it look worse than before."

Marinette gasped in alarm, her eyes about to burst out. " Two weeks?! You expect me to walk around like-like.. like that - for two weeks!? Are you insane?! " The girl yelled out, not believing a word her friend was saying. Did she mean she was gonna have to walk around the school, heck around her town, with red hair, without being figured out? How was this possible? Sure the citizens here weren't the brightest, but that didn't mean they had no brain!

"Damn girl, chill out. What's so bad with red hair- oh ..." Alya trailed off with realization as she looked at the girl, nervous as well. She now realized that if Marinette walked around, like that , she would surely be discovered.

"Alya, what am I going to do?! I can't walk around like this, it'll be over for me! My secret identity won't be a secret anymore! I can kiss the chances of having a normal life goodbye! " Marinette cried out, at this point not caring if someone was listening to their conversation.

"Okay, okay, we need to calm down, people could be listening to us right now! We won't be able to focus like this. First off, we need to know why someone would purposely give you a shampoo bottle of red spray paint," before Alya could complete the sentence, Marinette's eyes widened in realization before darkening, flashing red for a couple of seconds.

"Chloe," the girl growled, mentioning the name in distaste as her friend raised an eyebrow in confusion before realizing what she meant. Of course , who other than Chloe would wanna get revenge. She must've known that Marinette was somewhat responsible for the prank earlier this morning and wanted to get back at her.


End file.
